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bill_hew

defective Whirlpool gas water heater 1.5 years old

bill_hew
9 years ago

Several question on Whirlpool model NU50T122-403 50 gallon gas water heater purchased new Nov 2012 from Lowes with a 12 year warranty.

I am having a problem with erratic water temperature. This is not a pilot light thermocouple issue; it is not a volume of hot water issue, or a "temperature recovery" issue. The problem is getting gradually worse by the week.

After the water heater has sat unused for several hours (like, first thing in the morning, or in the evening when somebody finally comes home), sometimes the water (all 50 gallons) will be hot, sometimes it will be dangerously scalding hot, and sometimes it will be cool. I'm not a fan of cold showers, and sometimes now the water is hot enough to be a safety issue. All this is with no change to the thermostat setting (set to "HOT".) This is not a "mixing" problem, as I am measuring the temperature right at the hot water outlet of the heater. Seems like a thermostat problem or a temperature sensor problem. Whirlpool is just giving me the run-around with my 12 year no-warranty warranty. So, to my questions for folks out there:

1. Any other folks out there experienced this type of problem? (This is not the infamous pilot light problem that ultimately involved a class-action suit.) If you have similar experience, what was the source of the problem?

2. Has anybody been successful in getting Whirlpool to actually honor their warranty? If so, what's the magic word?

3. It seems obvious to me that Whirlpool's strategy is to stall until the water heater fails completely. Then I'll be in crisis mode, and will just have to buy a new water heater anyway. So, what brand do you recommend? I had several rather crummy GE's from Home Depot that have failed like clockwork 1 year out of warranty, so this Whirlpool was an attempt to try something different. Look where that got me! So, what can you recommend for a reliable gas water heater?

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